This is the disturbing moment a group of police officers were filmed laughing, swearing and watching PORN while a vulnerable man died just feet away in a custody cell.
Lloyd Butler, 39, was arrested on suspicion of being drunk and incapable on August 4, 2010, but died in custody three hours later after suffering a cardiac arrest.
A jury inquest heard officers should have taken him to hospital for monitoring but instead took him to Stechford Police Station in Birmingham and dumped him in a cell.
And rather than keeping a watch every 15 minutes on the dad-of-two officers from West Midlands Police viewed sex websites, and watched Sky Sports on police computers.
Footage taken inside the police station shows officers laughing and joking about Mr Butler while he lies unconscious in a custody cell nearby.
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A second camera mounted on the wall of the cell shows two officers checking on Mr Butler, from Sheldon, Birmingham, as he is slumped on the floor.
Later, the officers watch the CCTV monitor as Mr Butler struggles to his feet, while one remarks: “I thought he was just about to head-butt the door then.”
CCTV also showed officers dragging Mr Butler out of a police van by his legs causing his trousers to fall down.
When they finally discovered he was seriously ill, they called an ambulance and he was rushed to Heartlands Hospital in the city but it was too late and he was pronounced dead.
The 52-second clip, edited from more than two-hours of footage on the day he died, was released after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) slammed the officers for showing “disregard for human decency”.
Following a narrative verdict at Birmingham Coroners Court, Guido Liguori, associate commissioner of the IPCC, said: “The indifferent treatment of Mr Butler by officers and staff of West Midlands Police showed a disregard for both the stated procedures of detention and also for human decency.
“The care given to Mr Butler fell well short of what was expected from when he was arrested to the moment he sadly died.”
The jury found that had the officers followed their own guidelines and taken Mr Butler to hospital instead of the police station, he would probably have survived.
The chairman of the jury said: “On his arrival at custody, Mr Butler wasn’t capable and, according to policies in place he should not have been detained in custody, he should have been taken to hospital.
“It is the finding of the jury that, had Mr Butler been on a monitor in A&E at the time of his
heart attack, the probability is that he more likely would have survived.”
The jury concluded that a risk assessment of Mr Butler was “inadequate”, 15-minutes checks were not carried out and a nurse was late to attend him.
Speaking after the inquest finished on Tuesday (24/6), Mr Butler’s distraught mother
Janet, 64, blasted the officers – branding them “an absolute disgrace.”
She said: “I was satisfied with the inquest process because it brought out the truth – the truth about West Midlands Police and the officers who dealt with my son.
“Their behaviour was an absolute disgrace. They failed Lloyd, the failed him miserable.
“They failed Lloyd in their duty of care to him and I feel they assisted in his death.
“It’s very clear from the evidence we’ve seen over the last week-and-a-half that police officers were not carrying out procedures.
“If those procedures had been carried out, my son would have been alive today.
“I hate to think another family has to suffer the way we did and still are. It affects you for the rest of your life.”
Recording a narrative verdict, Birmingham Coroner Louise Hunt said the police needed to undergo a “change of culture.”
She said: “I remain concerned essentially about the conduct in custody suites.
“I appreciate a custody suite is a very difficult environment to work in but you have very vulnerable people coming in.”
During the inquest, the jury heard Pc Dean Woodcock, who arrested Mr Butler, was supposed to be keeping a constant watch on him but instead surfed porn websites on the internet and made personal calls from the police landline.
Footage shown to the jury also heard him joking with colleagues about the best way to wake Mr Butler up – suggesting they “hit him round the backside.”
The jury also heard that Pc Woodcock and a civilian employee, Detention Escort Officer Darren Wall, made insulting remarks about Mr Butler when his trousers fell down.
Shockingly, Custody Sergeant Mark Albutt was found guilty of gross misconduct and handed a final written warning for faking records to make it appear officers checked Mr Butler more often than they actually did.
All three members of staff have been allowed to keep their jobs despite being found guilty of misconduct.
IPCC commissioner Mr Liguori added: “Instead of taking Mr Butler to hospital officers kept him in a police cell and instead of helping him, Pc Woodcock and DEO Wall mocked him.
“This was a worrying case highlighted by our findings that Sgt Albutt deliberately recorded incorrect information in the custody record and failed to adequately monitor Mr Butler, Pc Woodcock preferring instead to surf the internet and make personal calls.
“Such actions are not what I would expect to see from the police officers and staff.”
West Midlands Police has apologised to Mr Butler’s family.
Assistant Chief Constable Gary Cann said: “Speaking on behalf of the force I am concerned and disappointed by the actions of the officers – it is not what we of the public would expect from an organisation that cares and looks after people.”
